Comments | thefourthvine: Fandoms I Have Loved 8: Oz

thefourthvine

Fandoms I Have Loved 8: Oz

Sep 20, 2004 16:45

I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to Oz, I know nothing. But when has that ever stopped me before? Roll on with the FIHL, and if I get it wrong, hey, just tell me so.

Oz is a TV show. About a maximum-security prison. That did its damnedest to show prison life the way it really is. And it was written by Tom Fontana. This is all ( Read more... )

oz, [fandoms i have loved]

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fanofall September 20 2004, 23:43:46 UTC

Okay, um, I have more questions. And, really, these are posted to the floor for anyone to answer.

Is Law&Order:SVU just, like, the retirement home for people who used to be on Oz but aren't anymore?

Actually, now that I think about it, the rest of my questions are plot-related and thefourthvine will just have to put up with my asking them via e-mail so I don't spoil those of you who, like me, are Not Familiar With Oz. Although, apparently we should be. :-D

thefourthvine September 21 2004, 07:45:51 UTC

Woman, you know I love you. So it is with love that I am asking: have you lost your freaking mind? You're going to ask plot questions of me, the original clueless slut ( ... )

fanofall September 21 2004, 10:26:33 UTC

But also JF Skinner, who plays some crazy evil white supremacist (?), and plays the recurring role of Dr. Emil Skoda on L&O:SVU, as well as the other L&O franchises. Additionally, several of the Third MedTech On The Lefts appear to have been on Oz, as well.

But I digress. You must help me. Keller...dies?

thefourthvine September 21 2004, 12:36:00 UTC

OK ( ... )

fanofall September 21 2004, 12:38:43 UTC

UGH.

Okay.

So why am I watching this again?

thefourthvine September 21 2004, 12:51:24 UTC

Beats me. No, actually, just don't watch season 6. You'll escape the worst of the craziness if you skip that one.

And, seriously, my understanding is that this is not happy viewing. If you watch it, I will worship you even more than I already do, but I will be on close, close watch for breakdowns. Because I don't think Oz is exactly the cheeriest of places. So I expect regular emails letting me know about your progress with Oz.

On the other hand, you are reading the fic because some of it is pretty damn hot and most of it is pretty damn good. And you won't hear about the darkest fic here, so that's fairly safe.

fanofall September 21 2004, 14:52:14 UTC

"Letters Home from the Front", and all that? ;-D

Okay, Coach, I'm goin' in! Um, as soon as my DVDs arrive from Netflix...

thefourthvine September 22 2004, 00:14:15 UTC

Yes, I want regular letters. Like, after every episode.

No. I want emails during the episodes. Because, you know, I fear for your sanity.

rowanfairchild September 21 2004, 13:10:54 UTC

Actually, to correct #3 -- Keller commits suicide when he realizes he's never going to get Beecher back. The thing that has most OZ fans in permanant denial, is that he tries, at the last second, to pin it on Beecher, by yelling "Beecher, no!" as he falls -- which in Fontana's world, is Keller's one last attempt to be in control of the relationship, even at the bitter end.

Bleah. Not something I like to think about.

(so I amuse you with my Ronnie Barlog memorial icon. Because we are a sick, sick lot. *g*)

thefourthvine September 21 2004, 13:53:54 UTC

OK. See, this is the kind of thing I am happier not knowing, although I suppose Beecher murdering Keller is worse than Keller, um, killing himself. I guess.

Can I be in the Oz fandom at all if I'm in permanent denial about the entire chain of events that led up to Keller's manipulative suicide? Can I be anywhere near the Oz fandom if I'm in permanent denial about all of Season 6?

(The icon's great, though. Made me laugh.)

rowanfairchild September 21 2004, 14:12:43 UTC

Can I be in the Oz fandom at all if I'm in permanent denial about the entire chain of events that led up to Keller's manipulative suicide? Can I be anywhere near the Oz fandom if I'm in permanent denial about all of Season 6?

*pfft!* Girl, you'd be in the majority. I mean, I'm like the world's biggest canon slut, and I still haven't really made my peace with it. I'm definitely in no hurry to write about it -- plenty of other facets to explore, ya know?

So yeah, I think you can exist quite comfortably in the fandom (certainly in the B/K end of the pool) without running up against S6 too often. Unless it's an alterna-6, which I predict shall become an increasingly popular genre. We just had a new-to-the-fandom writer, geneticallydead, post a quite excellent "alterna-6" story this week.

thefourthvine September 21 2004, 16:15:37 UTC

OK, that alternate 6 story was EXCELLENT. Thank you for pointing me towards it, 'cause that totally makes up for telling me the facts about the painful, painful canon.

Not that the facts you told me were any worse than the facts I previously believed, no, it's just - my Oz pattern. I think I know what went on in a tiny part of Oz canon and I accept it and get used to it and stop obsessively searching for lockdown fic (oh, shit, should've included a lockdown fic in my FIHL; that's the classic porn fic in this fandon, is it not?) to protect me from the horrible truth, and then I learn either a) everything is not as I thought or b) all that is true and this new horrible thing, too.

This isn't a fandom. It's a fan abuse practicum.

So, allow me to wave at you from the shallow end of the B/K pool, where I will remain forevermore. And glad to be here, let me tell you.

(Next FIHL is going to be Sports Night, though, I swear. In other words, thefourthvine returning to her happy place.)

fanofall September 21 2004, 14:55:45 UTC

Yeah, how sick a bitch am I that I am more okay with wanting to watch a show where one-half of the main couple COMMITS SUICIDE than I am with wanting to watch the same show where one half of an abusive, co-dependent, sick, twisted relationship kills the other half?

You have to stage an intervention ALREADY, and I haven't even SEEN IT YET!!!

thefourthvine September 21 2004, 16:32:25 UTC

No interventions until, at minimum, you get through Season 5.

And it's sick and twisted and abusive and co-dependent, yeah. But there's advantages to watching it:

1. There's no relationship on Earth that B/K doesn't make look good. You could be marrying a guy who wants to eat your ex-husband's brains, and you'd just think, hey, could be my brains he wants to eat, so that's not so bad.

2. It's also gay in canon, and sexy, and even...cute. (Actually, I lied. I don't know if they're ever cute, exactly; that link is to the actors, Lee Tergeson and Christopher Meloni, being seriously kissy at the 2000 GLAAD awards. But I just found it on my flist, and I thought you'd like to see it.)

See? Watch, little fangirl, watch!

fanofall September 21 2004, 21:12:47 UTC

Oh. JESUS.

God.

I don't have the words.

I cannot thank you enough for sharing that with me.

fictionbya September 21 2004, 17:16:53 UTC

You have to stage an intervention ALREADY, and I haven't even SEEN IT YET!!!

Watch it, watch it, watch it! You have to be a bit of a sick bitch to get through Oz anyway.

If you rent it for Beecher/Keller, keep in mind that Keller doesn't enter the picture until about the middle of season 2.

Season 1 Beecher is brilliant though because you get to see Schillinger utterly destroy him and then you get to see him go completely batshit crazy. Good times.

Also, Beecher/Keller is just a fraction of the Oz universe (though it occupies 90% of the fandom's collective brain power). There is ALL kinds of weird fuckery going on in that place. Lots of great characters. Ryan O'Reily is a particular favorite of mine... I think he can be tied to most (if not all?) the murders that happen in the first season.

I could gush about other characters, but are we just supposed to keep it to Beecher and Keller here?

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